On the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Leo XIV urged the Church to rediscover the simplicity of faith embodied by the Blessed Virgin Mary, inviting the faithful to welcome Christ with the same openness she showed at the moment of the Annunciation.
Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the midday Angelus, the Pope reflected on the grace Mary received “at the moment of her conception,” a grace given in anticipation of Christ’s saving work. According to Vatican News, he reminded the crowd that the Church celebrates Mary as the one who was “preserved from original sin by a unique grace from God,” prepared to receive the mission entrusted to her.
The Pope highlighted that Gabriel’s greeting, “Hail, full of grace: the Lord is with you,” revealed both Mary’s purity of heart and the divine plan unfolding before her. As Vatican News reported, Pope Leo said she embraced this revelation “with the wonder typical of the humble,” responding with the Gospel’s profound declaration: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
According to Vatican News, Pope Leo emphasized that Mary’s assent became fruitful precisely because she welcomed God’s gift freely. “The Lord always acts in this way: he gives us great gifts, but he leaves us free to accept them or not,” he said, noting that her freedom did not diminish the grace she received but allowed it to transform her life.
Quoting St. Augustine, the Pope added that “we also believe, because that which came to be [in her] can also benefit us,” underscoring that the mystery of the Immaculate Conception is not distant from the experience of ordinary Christians.
The Holy Father connected this teaching directly to the sacrament of Baptism, which he called the moment when Christ enters each believer’s life. According to Vatican News, he told the faithful: “The miracle, which took place at Mary’s conception, was renewed for us in Baptism: cleansed from original sin, we have become children of God, his dwelling place and the temple of his Spirit.” In this way, he explained, the baptized are empowered to live united with Christ and to “cooperate in the Church… for the transformation of the world.”
Earlier in the address, Pope Leo encouraged Catholics to imitate Mary by renewing their own assent to God each day. Vatican News quoted him saying that the Virgin’s “yes” is “wonderful,” yet the daily response of believers can be no less meaningful when offered “with gratitude, humility and perseverance, in prayer and in concrete acts of love.”
Following the Angelus, Pope Leo reminded the crowd that he would later make the traditional pilgrimage to Piazza di Spagna to honor Our Lady at the base of the historic column near the Spanish Steps. Each year on this feast, the Pope brings flowers to place before the statue of the Immaculate Virgin, while Roman firefighters ascend the 27-meter column earlier in the day to leave a bouquet in her outstretched arms.
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